Lipedema is a chronic condition characterised by abnormal fat deposition primarily in the arms, hips, buttocks, and thighs, while sparing the hands and feet. For decades little was known about this condition but in the last two decades and especially since 2015 research into lipedema as well as awareness by doctors and patients has increased exponentially. Lipoedema, first described in 1910 by Irving Phillips Lyon as "adipose" or "lipomatosis," was formally delineated in 1940 by Edgar Allen and Edgar Alphonso Hines Jr. as a distinct syndrome involving fat legs and orthostatic edema. Symptoms include pain, bruising, edema, and subcutaneous nodules, which are resistant…
Can an infrared sauna blanket boost your mitochondria?
The mechanism of action for both red and infrared light therapy, for tissue healing, anti-ageing, skin rejuvenation, overall cell energy increase etc, is their boosting of mitochondrial function by stimulating a mitochondrial enzyme called cytochrome C oxidase. As mitochondria are the energy powerhouses of each and every one of our cells, boosting mitochondrial function improves overall cell function, leading to healing, anti-ageing and better tissue and organ health. More and more people these days learn about this effect of red light and infrared radiation* on mitochondria…
What colour LED light is good for pigmentation?
Scientific studies indicate that: Yellow light (around 585 nm), red light (630-660 nm), and near-infrared light (830-940 nm) can reduce hyperpigmentation by inhibiting melanin synthesis, potentially fading dark spots. The evidence leans toward these colours being effective, as they target the processes that produce excess melanin. Yellow light is not that well researched, in contrast to red and infrared which have been extensively researched for decades. Orange light, while not as well-studied, may share effects with red and yellow due to its wavelength proximity…
What is best for cellulite: resistance or cardiovascular exercise?
Weight training is better than cardio for fat loss, right? Wrong. In the past few years people started to believe that resistance exercise is better than cardiovascular exercise for almost everything and especially for weight loss and cellulite reduction. The rationale is that with weight training you build muscle and that that muscle has higher metabolic needs, leading to more calorie burning, “even in your sleep”. However, this effect is exaggerated and the notion that weights contribute so much to metabolism increase could not be further from the truth. Cardiovascular exercise, especially high intensity “cardio”, like HIIT, interval running, spinning etc, burns way more calories than weight training. At the same time CV exercise also leads to long-term calorie burning - not via increased muscle mass, as with weight training - but via increased overall body metabolism and thermogenesis…
Does birth control cause cellulite or make your butt bigger?
Estrogen is the most important cause of cellulite. In fact it is the basis of cellulite. Without estrogen you may get weight gain and/or skin looseness, but you won’t cellulite - and that’s why men* don’t get cellulite. Yes, in addition to estrogen you do need to consume excess calories / eat unhealthily etc, but you need estrogen to turn those excess calories into…
Cellulite diet | How to get rid of cellulite
A diet that can help prevent or improve most or all of those changes, is the ideal cellulite diet. The diet components described below - always together with exercise / physical activity - address all seven facets of cellulite. As the same things that cause cellulite are also responsible for most whole body / skin ageing and degenerative diseases of the Western world, the ideal anti-cellulite diet is also the ideal healthy / anti-ageing diet…
Infrared and red light therapy after ultrasound cavitation
At the clinic we use ultrasound cavitation for cellulite reduction, focused with great precision on the hypodermis and dermis, leaving the epidermis alone, as it should be for this application. And we use LED red light therapy, mainly in the infrared wavelength, to maximise the results of our deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation treatments. It is now firmly established that infrared and red light therapy boosts mitochondrial function and thus cellular energy, and we have observed that when applied following cavitation treatment, it significantly improves the outcomes of cavitation for cellulite reduction…
Why do I have to wait 8 weeks before having radiofrequency / cavitation treatment after liposuction?
LED red / infrared light therapy after radiofrequency
At most clinics LED light therapy is provided after radiofrequency as a means to calm down skin after a very superficial radiofrequency treatment, which can irritate the skin. Low level light therapy (LLLT) in the red (around 630nm) and infrared (around 850nm) wavelengths is known to help calm and heal irritated skin and has been used for this purpose for decades. At our clinic, however, we do not use superficial radiofrequency for skin tightening largely because it is pointless for this purpose: fibroblasts (collagen cells) are found in the dermis (middle skin layer), while superficial RF acts primarily in the epidermis (top skin layer)…
We also do not use superficial radiofrequency for cellulite reduction because it is utterly pointless for this purpose. Fat cells and deeper seated collagen structures
Does lymphatic massage work for cellulite?
Lymphatic massage must be the most overhyped proposed cellulite treatment, together with the pathetic dry brushing (😂) and coffee been scrubbing (😂😂), which, of course, don’t work. True, impaired microcirculation / lymphatic drainage is part of the cellulite problem, together with excessive hypodermal adipose tissue accumulation, skin laxity and connective tissue fibrosis. However, manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) massage does NOT do ANYTHING for existing fibrosis, skin laxity or fat accumulation, the other three important structural aspects of cellulite. And when it comes to circulation / lymphatic drainage it only improves it temporarily, for a few hours or days…
Tighten your skin and reduce cellulite with the same treatment
Our LipoTherapeia cellulite treatments combine deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation with high-power LED phototherapy. Both deep, strong radiofrequency and deep, strong ultrasound help with cellulite reduction, while high-power red/infrared light therapy helps maximise radiofrequency’s and ultrasound’s results (We keep insisting on the terms “high-power” because the low-power versions of these technologies, found in many salons and clinics, simply do not work.) Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency is the gold standard technology for SAFE and effective skin tightening…
Why we now use red light therapy for all our cellulite treatments
At our clinic, we incorporate red and infrared light therapy into all our cellulite treatments, not as a standalone solution but as a vital enhancer of our core technologies. While red and infrared light therapy alone cannot significantly reduce cellulite, it plays a crucial role in amplifying the effectiveness of deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency (RF) and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation, complemented by healthy nutrition and exercise…
Fibrosis after lipo: how to get rid of it
After almost all “lipo” surgery (liposuction, liposculpture, laser lipo/smart lipo, vaser lipo, bodytite, abdominoplasty/tummy tuck, Brazilian butt lift/BBL, cellfina, subcision, cellulaze, cellutite, profound RF etc) inflammation and oedema (water retention). Inflammation / oedema are followed by scar tissue development (known as fibrosis, adhesions or simply ‘hard lumps’) in one of more areas or widespread throughout the operated area…
Red/infrared light therapy vs green, yellow and orange for skin rejuvenation: what's best?
A science paper published in 2014 explored the effectiveness of photobiomodulation (PBM) using novel polychromatic light sources vs red light for skin rejuvenation. The study investigates how non-thermal red and infrared light can improve skin appearance and stimulate collagen production, offering a gentler and more effective alternative to traditional skin rejuvenation methods like laser resurfacing or intense pulsed light (IPL). The study also compares red/infrared light therapy versus green, yellow and orange light therapy, in terms of skin rejuvenation (fine lines, wrinkles, skin roughness and skin collagen content)…
Does cellulite go away?
Unless cellulite is very recent and/or very little (pre-cellulite or Stage 1) it does not go away on its own, with a non-surgical treatment or with surgery (especially not with surgery). This is because by the time cellulite is noticeable by most people (Stage 2) permanent, non-reversible changes have occurred in the connective tissue under the skin. So don’t believe the smooth operators who promise for “cellulite to go away”. With cellulite that has been around for some time or it is Stage 2, 3 or 4, it is about reducing it to about…
How red/infrared light therapy fights skin and whole body inflammation
Red/infrared light therapy works by shining light on the body, where it’s absorbed by specific molecules called chromophores. One key chromophore is cytochrome c oxidase, found in the mitochondria—the powerhouses of cells that produce energy. When red (about 630nm) or infrared light (about 830nm) hits this molecule, it boosts energy production by increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the cell’s energy currency. It also causes a small burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are molecules that can signal changes in the cell. Other chromophores include calcium ion channels, which might respond to blue or green light, and water molecules, which absorb infrared light. All these interactions lead to a chain reaction: ATP rises, ROS briefly spikes, and nitric oxide increases, all helping cells function better and reducing inflammation…
Berries, polyphenols, resveratrol, pterostilbene and cellulite
Many nutrients are touted as “anti-cellulite” or “good for skin” or “circulation boosters”, but few actually deliver. One of those select nutrients is resveratrol, together with its more absorbable, more potent ‘cousin’, pterostilbene. In this article we summarise the benefits of those nutrients and the foods that contain them.
Stop charring and smoking your food: it’s lethal for your heart, causes cancer - and cellulite too
Stop charring and smoking your food - it’s a dangerous habit that threatens your heart, raises cancer risk, and may even contribute to cellulite. When you grill or smoke food, especially meats, high temperatures and smoke produce harmful compounds like heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These are proven carcinogens, linked to cancers such as colon and stomach cancer, with the World Health Organization classifying smoked processed meats as Group 1 carcinogens…
How to really get rid of cellulite?
This is a very common question that we hear at the clinic and also a very common question all over the internet. People believe the beauty industry marketing hype and all the extra extraordinary miracle claims, and then, when those claims do not materialise, they get disappointed. Well, after seeing literally thousands of clients over more than two decades, and after researching the subject continuously for the last 20+ years, let me put it as clearly, as honestly and as bluntly…
Does sports / deep tissue massage help with cellulite?
Some clinics advertise sports/deep tissue massage as an anti-cellulite massage, which could not be further from the truth. Deep tissue massage (aka sports massage) is a massage technique aiming to work DEEP into the muscles to alleviate muscle tightness, pain or injury. On the other hand, cellulite is an aesthetic condition that is characterised by hypodermal fat accumulation. Now the hypodermis may be the deepest skin layer but it is still way more superficial than the muscles. After the hypodermis we have the intermediate fascia, then the subcutaneous adipose tissue, then the deep fascia, then the muscle fascia and then the muscles. Muscles and hypodermis are two very distant tissues. Furthermore, the massage manipulation muscles need is quite different to the massage manipulation cellulite needs…